Constructing a Bottle Fence

Ever wondered what to do with all the wine bottles from last night\’s dinner party, or the empty green beer bottles from last night\’s football match? How about transforming them into a work of art? Here are some ideas on how reuse those empty bottles lying around into a fence. It is best to use bottles of the same size for all projects for a cleaner, neater look.

Wall of bottles There are two ways to construct this. The simplest way is to use chain link fences. Chain link fences can be easily purchased from your local hardware stores. First of all, set up the fence where you want your wall to be. Make sure that you install enough rails across and along the sides of the fence panel to ensure that the fence is stable. Next, simply stick the bottles into the diagonal grids of the fence until it is full. Small green beer bottles work best for this project as they are of a suitable size and do not need to be coloured afterwards. Besides that, the green colour of the bottles also provides a tinted shield against sunshine and also act like tainted glass windows. For a bolder, more artistic fence, you can also use different colour-tinted bottles to construct a picture, just like a glass window piece.

Alternatively, you can lay down a thick bed of mortar of which its width is the height of a bottle. Line the bottles lying down side by side on the bed of mortar and cover it with another thick layer of mortar. Repeat this process until it reaches your desired height. This method costs more and is more complicated but will last longer as the bottles will not fall off or break easily.

Garden border edge Small beer bottles can also be used to construct border edges for your garden to keep plants that grow rapidly in a confined space. To do this, dig a hole that is big enough for the top half of the bottle to go in. Simply plant the bottle with its base facing the sky and the mouth of the bottle in the ground until half of it is submerged. Pack the soil as you would plant a seed, only tighter so that the bottle is secured. Continue doing this with all the other bottles along the perimeter of the area you want to confine. It is better to pack the bottles tightly side by side to ensure that the plant you want to confine does not escape through the holes. For a twist, plant the bottles at a slight angle to create a jagged top surface. On another note, this project can also be done using aluminium cans, other types of bottles, or even bricks for the same effect.

Bottles on a wooden frame This would be the hardest to construct as it would require a bit of carpentry skills. For the best effect, make sure that you peel the labels thoroughly off your bottles and that they are off the same height and size. You can purchase your wood supplies from your local hardware stores or sawmills. The two types of wood that you need are thick and wide, sturdy wooden planks which will be used to construct the frame, and long wooden sticks (usually used as mop handles) with diameters equal to the bottles mouth to secure the bottles in place.

First, measure the desired length of your fence. Line up the bottles to ensure that you have enough for the whole fence, making sure that you have enough space for support beams as well. For this project, it is okay to leave gaps between bottles. Then, cut the long wooden sticks into equal length, measuring equivalent to the height of the base of the bottle to the tip of the mouth. The easiest way to ensure that you have the correct length is by standing the stick in the bottle at the middle of its base, and marking it off right at the tip of its mouth. Once you have enough wooden sticks for all the bottles, lay a piece of long wooden plank (the desired length of your fence) on your work surface. Fix the support beams at equal intervals. You can now secure the half-ready wooden frame into the ground where you intend it to stand. Next, line the bottles sitting on their base onto the plank at equal distances. To ensure that they do not run, glue the base of the bottles onto the plank. Next, stand a stick into every bottle and ensure that it is straight. Place another long wooden plank above the bottles and hammer the plank to each wooden stick into place. Your fence is now ready.

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